WHEN you come to vote on May 5, I would ask you to consider this question: has our country got better since 1997? I am confident that when we look back and remember the divided and destroyed communities the Tories left us with and compare that with the country today the answer can only be yes. Remember three million unemployed? Remember 15 per cent interest rates? Remember the poll tax? Under the Tories, car crime doubled, burglary doubled and overall crime doubled. Police numbers fell by one officer per day while Michael Howard was Home secretary. Under the Labour Party police numbers have increased by 13,000 and overall crime has fallen by 30 per cent. The Tories and Liberals opposed all Labour’s new laws on anti-social behaviour, wardens and terrorism. George Osborne failed to vote altogether on ID cards. The NHS was falling apart and people were waiting up to two years for critical operations. School standards were slipping and thousands of teenagers left school at 16 with only the dole to look forward to. Now, thanks to increased investment, schools and hospitals are improving and the new deal has consigned youth unemployment to the past. We are listening to peoples’ concerns by giving the over 65’s a council tax rebate of £200. We are listening to the people of the country and we are acting to eradicate pensioner poverty in the borough. The pension credit gives help where it is needed most and along with free eye tests, free TV licences for over 75s, the £200 winter fuel allowance. No Government is perfect and I know we have more to do but I firmly believe our record in office and our plans for the future deserve your support. Forget the Liberal Democrats, they can never win in Tatton or in the country at large. The choice is clear- forward with Labour or back with the Tories.

MEETING many local people and hearing their views has been one of the real pleasures of the campaign so far. I know from this that Wilmslow would benefit from an MP who would be able to campaign at the heart of Government on behalf of local residents. If elected I would ensure that major new road schemes such as the Alderley Edge by-pass and the Airport link road were put back to the top of the agenda to bring some much needed relief to local roads. I would also campaign to ensure that local roads such as the A538 are made much safer. If elected I would also ensure that the Tory controlled local authorities of Cheshire County Council and Macclesfield Borough Council are held to account for their actions. One example of this is the failure of the County Council to locate a new site for a household waste centre. This failure is compounded by the fact that they have failed to consider using compulsory powers and that Wilmslow is the last area in Cheshire to introduce kerbside recycling and has still yet to do so. Given the lack of a local facility surely it should have been the first? Unbelievably the Tories are now congratulating themselves on a job well done even though they refuse to say where the new tip is sited. Could it be that with an election coming up they want to appear to have done something on the issue at long last but for fear of a voter backlash won’t say where the new site is? The people of Wilmslow deserve better and they can ensure they have an MP who will stick up for local residents by voting Labour on May 5.

George Osbourne (Con)

AS THE local MP for Wilmslow, Handforth and Alderley Edge for the last four years, I’ve worked hard to be a strong voice for you. Now we have new battles to fight. If you’re dismayed by rising violent crime and binge drinking, then you know we need many more police on our streets and no 24-hour licenses. If you’re often stuck in the traffic in Alderley Edge or want to stop the rat-running in Styal, then you know that we need the much-promised A34 Bypass and the Airport Link Road. If you use Wilmslow’s direct train service, then you know we have to fight to keep it. If you’re fed up with going to Knutsford to get rid of your household waste, then you know we need a new tip - and it’s great that Conservative Cheshire County Council has now found a site after the old Labour/Liberal council closed the Newgate tip. I will be on your side in all of these campaigns. There are vital national issues at stake in this election too. Taxes have gone up and up but there is little to show for it in our local public services. Crime has risen, pensions are in crisis and rural life has been attacked. Conservatives promise cleaner hospitals, school discipline, more police, controlled immigration and lower taxes - with tax cuts for pensioners, savers and home buyers. Representing the people of the Tatton constituency in Parliament has been the greatest honour of my life. I have always sought to be open and straight in my dealings with you. With your support, I will continue to stand up for you, your family and our whole local community.

LAST Sunday I took part in a mass litter pick along the path that runs from Wilmslow High School to the railway station. With the help of some councillors, teachers from the school, some pupils, local residents and even the Mayor, we cleared the whole path and filled a dozen bags with rubbish. It is an example of what strong sense of community there is in Wilmslow. But Wilmslow has its problems as well. Crime and anti-social behaviour remain real concerns. As the town’s MP I helped get the CCTV system up and running, but it’s still no substitute for a visible police presence — not just in the town centre, but in the residential areas too. We need to help the local police by cutting their paperwork and recruiting many more officers — and Conservatives are promising 640 more in Cheshire alone. I also believe allowing 24 hour drinking, as the Government has done, is a huge mistake and will only encourage binge drinking. Another problem is the local transport. With the help of local residents, and councillors like Anne Tyrrell and John Fraser, I fought a successful battle as Wilmslow’s MP to save the direct train service to London. Now I’m campaigning to improve the train service. I’m also fighting hard to get both the Alderley Edge Bypass and the A34 Airport Link Road built. The Government claimed to support both schemes but then pulled the plug on them. Meanwhile the traffic congestion and pollution gets worse. There are other issues too. The Government closed the Finney Green and Lacey Green post offices in the face of unanimous local opposition. We need to save the remaining post offices. Parking is a problem, particularly in Alderley Edge. And we need to do what we can to maintain successful local businesses and shops. All these require hard work. As your MP for the last four years we fought some battles for the town. There are more battles ahead. For while Wilmslow is a great place to live, it should be even better.

Ainsley Arnold (Lib Dem)

YOU will have listened with a keen ear to all the information and sound bites coming from the three major parties. The Labour Party are asking you to trust them with a third term of office, despite their broken promise on charging tuition fees. They did keep their promise not to raise income tax but then they raised national insurance payments instead. By sending British troops to war with Iraq based on flawed information, Tony Blair has displayed poor judgement and even poorer leadership. The Conservatives are changing their policies on an almost daily basis to try an attract voters to adopt the Tory message, to come on board with the Conservatives as they now like to be known, is like being asked to rearrange the deckchairs on the Titanic. Their economic policies do not add up and financial pundits argue that there is a huge financial black hole in their economic plans. The Liberal Democrats are the only party to voice their opposition to the war in Iraq insisting that UN weapons inspectors should have more time to complete their work. We are the only party that has stated from the start of the election campaign our one tax increase, to pay for the scrapping of tuition and top up fees for students and to pay for free personal care for those who need it, so they do not have to sell their homes to pay for it. On the issue of the Council Tax, like many residents we believe that this is a grossly unfair tax, which should be axed and a new system of local income tax introduced based on people’s ability to pay. On May 5 voters have a choice, the same again, or the Liberal Democrats who offer a real alternative.

I HAVE always sought to recycle and reduce as much of the rubbish generated from daily living in my household as possible and have encouraged anyone that would listen to do likewise. So I find it is a scandal that the opportunity for those residents around the Wilmslow area to recycle their waste has been severely curtailed since the closure of the Newgate waste site four years ago. Locals must drive either to the Macclesfield or Knutsford waste sites now if they wish to recycle their waste, which given the emissions from the transport used to take it there, somewhat takes away some of the benefits of recycling. Recycling opportunities must be easily accessible for all residents if we are to make inroads into Cheshire’s waste mountain, which is the highest of any shire county and shows no sign of reducing. It is disgraceful that Conservative run Cheshire County Council has not offered any credible solution to this problem since it took control of the County Council four years ago. Liberal Democrat policies on the environment are both forward thinking and progressive, we have set a long-term goal of drastically reducing municipal waste, through waste minimisation, reuse and recycling. As a first step we will ensure that within seven years 60 per cent of all household waste is recycled and we aim to offer every household regular kerbside recycling collections. Manufacturers will also be held responsible for disposing of their products and materials that are difficult to recycle. Sadly since 1997 under Labour, this country has achieved a poor reputation on its environmental record, waste is up, energy consumption is up and CO2 emissions are up and Britain is languishing at the bottom of the European recycling league. The Liberal Democrats offer a positive, credible approach to creating a greener, healthier environment for us all to enjoy.

Diane Bowler (UKIP)

THE MAJOR thrust of the political agenda of the UKIP party is Britain’s withdrawal from the EU. This would save British taxpayers billions of pounds which would give each pensioner £25 extra pw. This withdrawal would rescue Britain from the threat of being engulfed by the EU. We are in danger of losing everything that makes this country British. Tony Blair and Michael Howard are miles behind the fair. A new law that I have written is to make criminals work in jobs, earning their own DHS and giving the remainder of the money to the victims. This would save the country so much money we could have a brand new NHS. The victims would get compensation, the criminals would be reformed, the taxpayer would save from the prisons and there would be the profits from the firms.

Michael George Gibson (True English (Poetry) Party)

I AM standing in my own name but am forming The True English (Poetry) Party. I cannot vote for Labour or Conservative candidates whose parties disgraced and endangered us all by leading us into the war against Iraq. Further, all the established parties are of a grossly consumerist nature. The human race in its very numbers and inventiveness threatens its own existence and that of all life on this planet. We want too many of the wrong things. We must slow down and simplify. I am standing my ground as an Englishman. I hardly think of myself as British. As an Englishman I of course ally myself with other countries within a United Kingdom thar I think should now be brought to an end as a King - or Queen - dom. As to the European Union: we should leave it. There is to some extent an English nation, weakened and held increasingly in contempt. I wish it weree stronger. I have a particular knowledge and love of English poetry and English land and seek to conserve them according to their best traditions. The land of Eng-land fed and feeds me. I try not to pollute and spoil it. But we madly degrade this vulnerable island. I have a dream, a childish one perhaps, of a clean self-sufficient country. I do not believe that there is a God, male or female, to help us find the best way; but I do think that we may yet control the excesses of our human nature.

THE three main candidates offer their views on health issues ...

Justin Madders (Lab)

AS a father of three boys, I’ve seen first-hand the very real improvements to the NHS in recent years.

We all know about the increased investment that the Labour government has made in reducing accident-and-emergency waiting times and waiting-lists for operations.

But this is only part of the story. Since Labour came to office, there are over 5,000 more nurses and nearly 1,000 more doctors in the Cheshire and Merseyside Strategic Health Authority area.

Extra staff would never have appeared under the Conservatives, who starved the NHS of resources for years.

The NHS needs the Labour government to be returned, to continue this extra investment. Coupled with an extra £34 billion of investment planned during the next parliament, we also have ambitious plans to ensure each patient goes through the entire medical process in just 18 weeks – from referral to operation.

We also plan to give matrons the power to fine cleaning contractors and bring cleaning services back in-house to deal with the MRSA superbug.

It’s astonishing that the Tories have latched onto this issue. It was they who introduced competitive-tendering into cleaning services, resulting in halving of hospital cleaners.

However, what worries me most about the Tories are their plans to dismantle the founding principle that the NHS should be free.

Their "patient’s passport" should be called a "pecuniary passport", as it will only be available to those with substantial money. Passports would allow those who can afford it to jump the queue for operations – the patient would pay half the treatment fee and the taxpayer half.

However, all money would go to the private hospital, thereby depriving the NHS of £1 billion a year and destroy its free principle, which is the envy of the world. You can only ensure it remains in place by voting Labour.

Ainsley Arnold (Lib Dem)

The Liberal Democrats will concentrate on keeping people healthy – not just treating the sick – and we will cut unfair charges.

We will scrap charges for personal care, meaning people with conditions such as dementia will not have to pay for help with feeding, dressing and washing.

We are committed to cleaner hospitals, and controlling and containing the spread of infection. And we would give doctors the authority to close wards and tackle infections.

The complacent approach this government has taken on this issue is, to say the least, worrying – and with fewer and fewer antibiotics having any effect on M R S A, basic hygiene standards are imperative to stem the rise of this infection.

We will eliminate hidden waiting lists for scans and tests, and provide quicker diagnosis so NHS treatment starts sooner.

Government official waiting lists do not tell the whole truth, because some people are waiting months for scans and tests after referral by their doctor.

The Conservatives talk about choice in their health policy. But it is choice for the few – and long waits for the rest.

Subsidising private treatment for the rich will cost the NHS £1.2 billion out of its budget before a single extra operation is ever performed.

The Liberal Democrats believe rapid diagnosis and treatment is the right of everyone – not just those who can afford it.

When a doctor believes you may have a serious illness, we will offer diagnosis by the quickest practical route, public or private, so the NHS can treat you more quickly.

George Osbourne (Con)

NOT so long ago, my wife and I had to take my baby daughter to Macclesfield Hospital. Thankfully, she wasn’t seriously ill and recovered quickly.

The hospital staff were brilliant, as is our family doctor. So I know how hard-working and committed all NHS staff are. These dedicated professionals have a much better idea of local health needs than Whitehall bureaucrats.

Yet they are hamstrung by hundreds of centrally-imposed targets and diktats putting the government political priorities before local people’s clinical priorities.

The most striking example of this is senior nurses not allowed to close dirty hospital wards for cleaning, because it would break Whitehall throughput targets.

Sadly, more people now die of hospital superbugs than on British roads. And average hospital waiting times have gone up under Labour.

We’ve had eight years of talk and we now need action.

Conservatives would spend an extra £34 billion on health by the end of our first parliament. But we’d ensure it got to the frontline by abolishing bureaucracy.

We’d also give patients a right to choose where they are treated, if one hospital’s waiting list for an operation is shorter than another.

Currently, many patients with no insurance are forced to go private. But we’d help by contributing 50 per cent of the cost the NHS would have incurred.

We’d also do more for people with chronic conditions, giving faster cancer-service access and help with long term care-costs. We’ve also got plans for more NHS dentists.

I’m passionately committed to NHS values. But we should trust local NHS professionals to run local hospitals and give patients a real right to choose treatment.

Vote Conservative and make this happen.

Mum-of-three to stand for UKIP -published 20 April

UK Independence Party’s Diane Bowler will stand for election at Tatton on May 5th. The mum-of-three, from Greystroke Road, Macclesfield, is the fifth candidate to stand for election in the constituency. Diane spent seven years as Head Dental Nurse for a large practice in Manchester before she married and moved to Macclesfield. After working in sales and retail management Diane began a career as a writer and is currently producing an autobiography and poetry. She says she single-handedly brought up three daughters and takes an acute interest in people. “Politics isn’t completely hopeless — there's UKIP”, she said. “It’s a party made of real people who speak the truth and put the interests of the British electorate first. “The finances of £30 million a day we can recover by withdrawing from the EU would allow each pensioner an extra £25 per week as well as lowering taxes and unemployment. “We want to re-instate free speech and will repeal all Politically Correct legislation. “None of the other parties can tackle the issue of immigration because they are tied to the EU’s immigration policy. UKIP is the only mainstream party that wants withdrawal from the EU.”

Poet joins race for Tatton election -published 20 April

LANDSCAPE gardener and poet Michael Gibson has joined the election race in the Tatton constituency standing as an independent MP. Michael will be standing in his own name but has since formed the True English (Poetry) Party. He will launch his first manifesto on Sunday, April 24 at 3pm on Knutsford Heath under the commemorative oak tree close to the Manchester Road. He told the Express: "I will not vote for Labour or Conservative candidates because those parties have disgraced and endangered us all by leading us into the war against Iraq. Further, I consider that all the established parties are of a grossly consumerist nature. “I have particular knowledge and love of English poetry and English land and seek to conserve them according to their best traditions. "The land of Eng-Land fed and feeds me. I am a gift of it. I try not to pollute or spoil it. But we madly degrade our land on this vulnerable island. "I have a dream, a childish one perhaps, of a clean, self-sufficient country. I do not believe that there is a god, male or female, to help us find the best way. "But I do harbour a hope that we may yet control the excesses of our human nature day by day.”